MPP Courses

MPP1232 - Supervised Ministry Experience

Course Description

A course designed to take place as the student completes their MPP classes through which the student will integrate classroom learning with ministry experience. This class shall include a demonstration of significant ministry experience of at least 100 hours of ministry practice based upon 35 ministry skills as outlined in the course and an understanding for each student of ways his or her education will support ministry. The course requires a pastor-mentor relationship with someone who has had at least five years experience in the area of ministry the student is pursuing. The student will also establish a Congregational Support Team comprised of three lay leaders in his/her local church. The Pastor/Mentor and CST Members will serve as consultants and evaluators throughout the Supervised Ministry Experience.

Course Objectives

The following learning goals will be achieved by this course:

To integrate and synergize academics with ministerial practice.

To provide practical experience under the supervision of a mentor in a variety of ministry experiences.

To allow students to evaluate their ministry commitments and competencies.

To encourage the student's personal and professional growth.

To provide the opportunity to enhance leadership, management, and relational skills in the establishment of an overall plan for the Supervised Ministry Experience.

To allow the student to compare educational and life experiences based upon 35 identifiable ministry skills as outlined in the syllabus through supervised experiential learning.

To provide the opportunity for the student to compose a portfolio which is not only a record of the SME, but will continue to serve as a ministry resource tool.

And to further fulfill the requirements of ordination as presented in this course and established by the Department of Clergy Development of the Church of the Nazarene:

CN18: Ability to list and explain the Nazarene Articles of Faith

CN29: Ability to identify the directives of the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene that pertain to the organization and ministry of the local church
and to the responsibilities of the pastor at local and district levels

CP3: Ability to speak coherently and cogently in the modes of discourse appropriate for the various ministry contexts

CP5: Ability to provide oversight ones ministry using management skills including servant leadership, conflict resolution, and administration
CP6: Ability to manage resources of one's ministry (time, human, financial, etc.) in a way consistent with a church's size and characteristics

CP7: Ability to conceive and articulate purpose, mission, vision, and to develop strategic plans in a local church

CP21: Ability to envision, order, participate, and lead in contextualized theologically grounded worship, and to develop and lead appropriate
services for special occasions (i.e., wedding, funeral, baptism, and the Lord's Supper

CP15: Ability to think globally and engage cross culturally for the purpose of mission

CP16: Ability to communicate evangelistically and to be engaged with and equip others in personal and congregational evangelism

CP17: Ability to lead the church in discipling and assimilating new converts into the church

CP18: Ability to identify social and congregational factors that influence church growth

CP19: Ability to describe the stages of human development and apply that knowledge in leading people to Christian maturity

CP20: Ability to envision Christian education most appropriate for a local church and to assure the development and empowerment of those serving it

CH2: Ability to discern and make theologically based ethical decisions in the midst of a complex and/or paradoxical context

CH3: Ability to teach and model sexual purity

CH5: Ability to apply Christian ethics to the issues of the integrity of the minister and the congregation for authentic Christian faithfulness
and public witness

CH6: Ability to pursue holy character (Christlikeness) by practicing faith formation and the classic Christian disciplines as a means of grace

CH8: Ability to take responsibility for his or her own continuing spiritual development

CH9: Ability to apply understanding of his or her ongoing developmental needs across the life course of the minister to the pursuit of holy character

CH14: Ability to maintain a healthy balance between family, church, and community commitments

CX1: Ability to discover sociological dynamics and trends and to apply that information to specific ministry settings

CX2: Ability to analyze and describe congregations and communities

CX3: Ability to describe socialization and to apply its dynamics to the life of the Christian community

Personal Growth: The development of a portfolio for assessing personal growth in character. This portfolio would include periodic self-assessment and assessment by significant others, namely the Pastor/Mentor, the Congregational Support Team Members and the NBC Facilitator of the SME Course. These assessments would evaluate the minister in the areas of "Being" as well as "Doing."(To Be and To Do categories)

Course Prerequisites

This is generally the last module taken. Unless given special permission, no MPP Student should be enrolled in this course until they are approaching completion of the program.

Nazarene Bible College is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), and is approved by the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE), and the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).